Six Flags Over Florida?

It's the rumor that won't die. But Six Flags' stock is tanking, revenue's falling short and debt payments loom. Given all that, could the company actually build a park in Florida that anyone would want to visit?

I heard this rumor for quite awhile, from people who knew others doing land prep, to a large pieace of land being worked about 10 miles north of Fort Myers, If this is true could a person easily find building permits, would the company try to hide these under fake names?

[This is the rumor that will not die. Just this week, I've gotten e-mails about alleged construction off 192 and near the old Circus World/Boardwalk site in Haines City. People seem to really, really want a Six Flags park in Florida.

Could it happen? Is it happening? A Six Flags spokesperson said that chain has no plans that he's aware of to build in Florida at this time. In fact, Six Flags hasn't built a park since Six Flags Over Mid-America (now Six Flags St. Louis), three decades ago.

As you said, Six Flags has not built their own park since Six Flags Over Mid-America. All their new parks now, are acquired.

I personally don't know why the locals want a Six Flags park since they have some of the best theme parks in the nation. But, there is a downside to that, these existing theme parks aren't "thrill" parks, and that seems what everyone wants nowadays. Sure, IOA has the Incredible Hulk and Dueling Dragons, but those are only two, they want more. Another reason they might want a Six Flags park, is that SFOG is a VERY long drive. So for these reasons, it seems reasonable that they need one.

Could Six Flags build a park under its current management and financial situation? Yes, they spend millions each year on coasters and other attractions, so why not a theme park? Would it be for tourists or locals? Six Flags doesn't cater to tourists, so locals, as I said, before would be the main draw. And as the saying goes, "If you build it, they will come."

Wow! A Six Flags in florida? Well they do have some of the best coasters on top ten lists everywhere, but do they have the money to go toe to toe with Disney and Universal? If they do this, they will have to spend lots of cash on great theming and "dark rides" which is the norm now in Florida. If they go the cheap route and do a DCA or Dinoland park, they will be sorry.

That would be really cool, but I think that it would have trouble getting off it's feet in a mecca of fantastic theme parks. For it to be successful, it would need alot of good rides when it first opened. If not, people would probably check it out and find out that there are better parks in Orlando. Also, I think that it would need to be built in northern Florida, where it would attract Jacksonville residents, Georgians, and Northern Floridians who don't feel like driving down to Orlando. It would be a nice change, but I don't think it would work.

For this park to be successful in a mecca of wonderful theme parks, it would need alot of good rides when it first opened. If it didn't, though, people would go and check it out and find out that the Orlando parks are much better. Also, I think that it would need to be built in northern Florida. There, it would draw in Jacksonville residents, Georgian residents, and northern Floridians who don't want to drive all the way to go to a good park. Else, I don't think it would be very successful but who knows?

First, there is no way this is happening now. SF is having MASSIVE problems with many of its biggest parks. Attendance is down at three of their biggest and Magic Mountain is having all kinds of problems other than attendance.

That doesn't mean it couldn't happen in the future. Central Florida is out of the question. Especially if both Busch and Universal continue to sell extremely cheap APs. Those are SF's bread and butter. Northern Florida has had SF rumors for quite a while near either Jacksonville or Tallahassee. Problem is, there aren't really boatloads of people in either area. And they won't drag much from Georgia considering they already have an SF park. If they build in FL AT ALL, they should think about Southern Florida. The Miami area has a huge population and there aren't a whole lot of things for kids to do in the area if they are visiting from elsewhere.

Still, if this EVER happens, which I doubt, it won't be for years and years. Even if SF does recover quickly, we are all going to have to wait to see what Bill Gates has up his sleeve.

A Six Flags Park in northern Florida would draw in Southern Georgians. Just because they already have one, it doesn't mean that they wouldn't want another one close by. I, myself, live by a Six FLags park, and if another was built in my area, I, and everyone else, would definitely go. I get your point, though, and I do think that Southern Florida would be a good place for a Six Flags park. I also know that a new park is nearly impossible in the near future, considering their financial situation, but we're speaking hypothetically here!

Six Flags DID have a park in South Florida. It was called Six Flags Atlantis in the Ft. Lauderdale area (Hollywood to be exact). It was a great water park... something that definitely rivaled Wet 'N' Wild. I don't see them trying to build in an area that they've already gone belly-up in. If they did the Central Florida thing, chances are they would keep their tickets a little lower than the biggies. They'd have more thrill rides, and they most likely would steal some of the Busch Gardens Tampa audience for those that are dying for some great coasters. They would have an audience, but as other people have stated, they have to put a lot of money into it. These are Orlando standards and people aren't gonna fall for some cheap sub-par theme park.

I don't think a Florida Six Flags park can work. Anything south of St. Augustine (on the coast) is too close to Daytona Beach (hence I-4 and the Bee Line). The monorail construction (my fellow Floridians are quite stupid...the liberals don't even know what an arrow means:) will begin in 2004 eventually connecting Daytona/Tampa to Orlando. This would make the long term prospects for a park anywhere near I-4 rather poor. Land in South Floriduh (I'm the only Republican to ever escape that god forsaken place) near either I-95 or I-75 is prohibitively expensively (Six Flags sold the Six Flags of Atlantis property near Miami after Hurricane Andrew as they determined it was worth too much to justify rebuilding a themepark there) . Land off I-95 in Northen Florida (St. Augustine/Jacksonville) is also expensive, as is land off I-10 near Jacksonville. North Florida off I-75 (Gainesville/Ocala/Lake City), is rather unpopulated with the exception of Ocala (roughly 1/2 the size of West Palm Beach) and Gainesville (a college town...albeit a large one with 65,000 students between UF/SFCC). That area is also within 90 minutes of Orlando and 60 minutes south of Wild Adventures in Valdosta (a park quickly growing and much cleaner than any Six Flags Park I have seen). Then you have I-10 going through the panhandle, with the exception of Panama City, Criminole Country, a few small beach towns there is nothing but the longest (5+ hours), boring drive in the state. You could always build in the Woods off some two lane highway, but good luck drawing people. Unless Six Flags is ready to build a park comparable to Disney/Universal, it really doesn't make much sense.

Maybe Southern Georgians would want to go to a Florida SF park. But SF wouldn't want them to. They don't need people who could buy a bunch of $50 Season Passes and get two parks out of the deal. Those SPs are where parks like SF's make most of their money. A Northern Florida park would sell HALF the SPs that their other parks would and SF over Georgia would probably LOSE SPs. I don't see a park in this area making money.

Yes, maybe a water park bombed in South Florida, but an amusement park is not a water park. An amusement park could very well thrive down there.

The area 10 miles north of Ft. Myers is Cape Coral, FL. I know this because I live about 3 miles from the construction area romoured to be the new Six Flags! If they were to build in this area it would do VERY well, as many of the residents don't like driving the 2 1/2 hours to Tampa or 3 1/2 hours to Orlando. The rumour has been flying around here for about 2 years now, and I for one am hoping it's NOT just a rumour. The population around here doubles in winter (snowbirds), and Cape Coral is (i believe) one of the top 3 largest cities in FL as far as size and population. The closest Six Flag to here in Georgia (10 hours) and Southern FL doesn't have anything like a full fledged park. Plus I'd like to look out my window and see coasters. Who wouldn't!

Six Flags can't battle with the big boys here. I grew up in Atlanta and I have been to SFOG many, many times... There's no way they can come into the Sunshine State and compete.

Recently, rumors have been floating around Comumbia County, where Interstates 10 and 75 intersect as a possible area for the new park. It's 3 hours north of Orlando, 4 hours south of Atlanta. This is also just an hour south of Valdosta GA where Wild Adventures sits.

If Six Flags comes here, they'll have to really spend some money to make their park dynamic. SFOG isn't clean, isn't themed well, and their customer service flat out stinks. I am sure if it's like that there, then it's like it all over the place, and people here want Disney treatment.

Sure they can build coasters, but in my opinion, I would still go south to Orlando or Tampa, as being an annual passholder at all the parks there make it easy to go for the day.

If they want to come, put it away from us, go to Panama City or Miami, places I don't go to!

Like David says, "SFOG isn't clean, isn't themed well, and their customer service flat out stinks." I totally agree. I've been to SFOG, 2 SF in Texas, SFWA and SFAmerica and the only one that was halfway decent was SFAmerica. I live in South Florida and wouldn't want a SF nearby. We get annual passes to everything and go to all the parks in Central Florida about once a month. We either need a new park company or let Paramount try their hand at it. If they build it, we will come, but not forever if it's not a good park. A Paramount park with rides like Volcano and XLC would be great.

Why people think a Six Flags park coould not succeed in Central Florida is beyond me. There are so many reasons it WOULD work!

First, they already have a market in place to cater to. Orlando is the tourist capital of the US with millions of people yearly coming down to see Disney, Universal, and Sea World. Getting these people who are already in town to be thrilled and entertained to visit yet another amusement park would not be difficult at all. Especially those tourists who are looking for something new compared to previous visits.

Second, the Orlando area is desperately in need of a thrill park. The closest things that come to it are IOA (too few rides) and Busch Gardens (an hour away from Orlando). People would eagerly rush over to a new park that could offer the longest, fastest, and most hi-tech coasters.

Third, Six Flags is an established name. For the general public they have a positive image, less so for amusement park aficionados, but the name would definitely carry a lot of weight and make it a bit less of a risky venture as say something like Boardwalk and Baseball was.

My suggestion would be that Six Flags do a cooperative development deal with Warner Bros. and build a Six Flags thrill park (hopefully themed around DC Super Heroes like Marvel Super Heroes Island at IOA) alongside a Warner Bros. Studio Park. That way they could probably add a few hotels and maybe a water park as well, and really make it a full vacation destination as opposed to a one-note amusement park.

Adam,The article states the land rumored to be Six Flags is THREE hours away from Orlando! Yes, I have rented a car to drive the hour to visit Busch Gardens, but I would NOT visit Six Flags. The nearest one to me is three hours away. I went there once and will not go again. I have been to several other Six Flags parks as I am a coaster enthusiast. Some of their rides are great, but overal atmosphere in their parks stink.

BTW--WarnerBros. owns Six Flags and DC comics. That's why all their rides surround Superman and/or Batman themes, and their children's playlands are all Loony Tunes.

Now, I am curious. Exactly what is going on at said piece of land?!?!?

Side thread: How can both Universal *and* Paramount have "Nickelodeon" themed areas.

Quick answer to your question: Viacom (owner of Paramount, CBS, Nickelodeon, MTV and parts of the media universe that Clear Channel and Disney don't yet own....) licensed the use of Nickelodeon to Universal for its parks in Southern California and Central Florida, since Paramount doesn't have any parks in those markets.

Ronald, there is a difference between being OWNED BY and HAVING A LICENSING FEE. If SF were actually owned by Warner Brothers, they would really be in trouble right now since AOL/Time Warner is REALLY in bad shape.

A response to the previous comment on building a SF park in/near Orlando: I seriously doubt it would last. The Orlando job market is stretched pretty thin as it is. Hiring for that park would be pretty tough as well as the quality of applicants would leave a lot to be desired (but, then again, from all the comments about SF parks, it doesn't look like they really care about guest service).

If they build it, then build it far enough away from the Orlando/Central Florida area. The old Circus World/B&B site has been rumored to be a new SF park for at least 10-15 years. I don't think that will ever pan out and I'm happy about that. It's still too close to the big parks and they just can't compete with that.

hey if anybody thought i meant i think paramount whould make a better park than six flags and i didnt know they were already making parks but that is not it. i know that paramount makes parks and i like them better. just thought id say that if anybody thought the opisite. ( i got a email about it )

Paramount might be better but I don't think no one is gonna build that kind of park down here. I would love it because I live down here. Little/no people have mentioned a Cedar Fair park. Orlando, or wherever in Florida they could build it they could get a lot of coasters. They have some good ones, Montu, Kumba, Gwazi, Increddible Hulk, Dueling Dragons. Even Scorpion is good. Who cares if it's small, it's still good. If they do build one of those parks Florida would have a chance at a Hypersonic XLC type coaster or a hyper, even giga coaster. A flying coaster would be nice.

Could we be getting confused with Warner Bros Movie World? They could be building a park in FL? They have built new parks in recent years so why not one in FL? I saw a rumor a while back for one in Las Vegas.

From Anonymous
Posted October 14, 2002 at 7:19 PM

I live in the immediate area where it is rumored to be built and would be thrilled to have a six flags theme park in the area, Southwest Florida has needed a major tourist attraction for a very long time!!! THe boost to the economy is exactly what this area needs and there are an awful lot of people in this area that could really use a decent paying job and a place to go and spend time with their families without having to spend hours on the road to get there. I say Six Flags if there is any truth to the rumors then bring it on we are ready for you!!!!!

From Anonymous
Posted October 20, 2002 at 9:15 PM

It's long overdue folks! Six Flags should definitely build somewhere between Tampa and Orlando. Many of you don't think they could make a theme park alongside the greatest ones in the world and survive, but where in the world would be better to build than there? I mean, come on! People come to Orlando for thrills and fun! The one thing Orlando is seriously lacking is the true thrills. IOA has it, but not enough of it. Busch also seems somewhat lacking on the extreme-side...except for Kumba, Montu, and Gwazi, there isn't too much to do. I also beieve a Warner Bros. Movie World-style park (like the one in Madrid, Spain) would become a big draw to Florida tourism. I still have hopes for SF in Florida!

Sorry, but the reason I go to the theme parks in Orlando is to get AWAY from things like Six Flags. Even Busch Gardens is an improvement. I am sure others feel the same. Six Flags isn't somewhere you pay full-price for. It's somewhere you buy a cheap Season Pass. It's gotta be Miami.

I also think another major park would stretch the job market even thinner than it is; at least if it was built near Disney and Universal. It would need to be far enough away as to draw their employees from a totally different area.

Six Flags should use their capital to improve their existing parks. Instead of adding cloned coasters to every park, they should take a couple of off-seasons to improve the look of the parks, and improve the degrading quality of their food. Acquiring existing parks seems to be their M-O, but building a new park would be evena bigger mistake, and an investment of over $500 million would be needed to compete with what's in Florida right now. There are only so many people who are looking for thrill parks, and IOA along with Busch Gardens fill the thrill ride void left vacant by Disney.

From Anonymous
Posted November 4, 2002 at 4:49 PM

All of you people that say there shouldnt be a six flags park in florida are wrong. South florida has been really boring for a long time. even though ioa and so on are better a six flags in south florida would be so awesome. For all the southwest floridians you know what i'm talking about that would totally smash sunsplash and all these other places we have. I understand all the money problems but they could at least try because i know i would be there on monthly trips. also i love roller coasters and im sure there will be competition. also universal,sea world,disney,and all the other parks in orlando are doing just fine. Iwish they would stop thinking all about orlando think about south florida. Therefore i think a six flags in south florida{cape coral} would do very good since cape coral and ft myres are connected to each other. Also plenty of teens would love to go there and just have fun and hang out.

We went over this in the Kissimmee thread (which I will not look for... just punch it into the search engine) but I will repeat some of it. Six Flags parks make the vast majority of their revenue from Season Passes. Now most people who buy Annual Passes for Disney will NOT buy them for Six Flags. Apples and oranges. Same, most likely, with SeaWorld. So their biggest competition in this category would be Universal. Universal has been selling TWO-PARK passes to Florida residents for $99. SF could NOT compete with that. It might have coasters galore, but it wouldn't have MIB or Spider-Man or Popeye or Dudley or Jurassic Park or Jaws, etc. And then it would have to be the JEWEL of SF parks for the tourists to come visit. It simply wouldn't be worth it.

I have heard that Six Flags has just purchased land in Central Florida. The location is I-95 and SR-520 located bewteen East Orlando and the Cape. So far rumor, however my source is currently working on the road expansion of SR-520.

Well, since Marco Polo Park closed (and if you remember that park then you are no spring chicken) there has been no major park along I-95. Maybe it will revitalize the Titusville area. That town has been slowly drying up over the years.

It will be great! . South Florida needs a theme park with thrill roller coasters. Although we have bush garden and Universal, these theme parks are not enough for South Floridians. Besides, I don’t have to visit my brother in California just to go to six flag Magic Mountain

I'm still waiting on an official announcement in either the Orlando Sentinel or by Six Flags but nothing yet, so I'm not holding my breath.

From Anonymous
Posted December 13, 2002 at 7:51 AM

Unlikely,

Why?1. Cash2. Competition

These two factors make a new themepark in Florida, highly unlikely. What is likely is that Universal would sell IOA/USF to Six Flags.

Why?1. Universal's owners Vivendi are starting to signal an initative to sell their themepark division, they too have bad debts but no real knowledge of themeparks, except for the original talent at IOA.2. IOA would be a massive boost to governmental authorities in the region, Busch, Disney would be rejected from purchasing IOA due to competition regulations, therefore Six Flags is the only big enough operator to buy, with the exception of Paramount.

Maybe?

From Anonymous
Posted December 28, 2002 at 12:51 PM

I heard North Florida....a little southwest of Jacksonville. There is a lot of development in this area.

Well that would make sense. I live in Jacksonville and there is an incredible amount of area to develop. It's the largest city in the country land wise. It's far enough from the parks (about 3 hours). I'd definately get a season pass if they built near here.

Just another small tidbit of info. While the rumor of Six Flags In SF has been floating around my area (Cape Coral) for sometime now, I have heard (from Lee County Electric & Time Warner Cable employees) that is indeed NOT a rumor as the Electric company is building a large power plant in the Area rumored to be the location of the new Six Flags (for local residents...off Burnt Store Road, 1/2 way between cape Coral & Punta Gorda). Not only that, but there has been major road construction on the main roads leading to Burnt Store from single two way to a four lane highway (perhaps to accomodate the new park????)… Is this wishful thinking?? I for one hope it is not.

I have heard rumors that they're looking at a lot of land near Lake City Florida, where Interstate 10 and 75 meet.

The Columbia County commission says they don't know of anything like Six Flags wanting to come to town.

If they came to this area, they would really have to step up their efforts, as they will be 3 hours from Orlando, 1 hour from Wild Adventures (Valdosta Georgia) and 4 hours from Six Flags Over Georgia in Atlanta.

Many of the people living in the area already have annual passes for many of these parks.

I do not think it would do well in that location, or in Florida, as Universal, Disney, and the fine folks at Anheiser Busch run the table in the sunshine state.

If Six Flags comes to town, I'd go to see how bad it was, then go ride Hulk at IOA.

I have heard rumors that they're looking at a lot of land near Lake City Florida, where Interstate 10 and 75 meet.

The Columbia County commission says they don't know of anything like Six Flags wanting to come to town.

If they came to this area, they would really have to step up their efforts, as they will be 3 hours from Orlando, 1 hour from Wild Adventures (Valdosta Georgia) and 4 hours from Six Flags Over Georgia in Atlanta.

Many of the people living in the area already have annual passes for many of these parks.

I do not think it would do well in that location, or in Florida, as Universal, Disney, and the fine folks at Anheiser Busch run the table in the sunshine state.

If Six Flags comes to town, I'd go to see how bad it was, then go ride Hulk at IOA.

From Anonymous
Posted February 4, 2003 at 4:45 PM

I heard today from a friend that Six Flags purchased some land in the Wedgefeild, Florida area.

From Anonymous
Posted February 5, 2003 at 5:17 AM

I live 5 minutes form the supposed land of where Six Flags is to be built. Ans it's a big open land of area with numerous trails for ATV's and many people go mudding with their trucks back their. I've been hearing about this for a year now and just yesterday i was back there on my ATV and police were there making everyone leave and saying "its now private property" and I was talking to a guy who was also leaving he said the cop said they were building a six flags there. Hate to se the land go, but a theme park should be good too.

From Anonymous
Posted February 5, 2003 at 5:17 AM

I live 5 minutes form the supposed land of where Six Flags is to be built. And it's a huge open land of area with numerous trails for ATV's and many people go mudding with their trucks back there. I've been hearing about this rumor for a year now and just yesterday i was back there on my ATV and police were there making everyone leave and saying "its now private property" and I was talking to a guy who was also leaving he said the cop said they were building a six flags there. Hate to see the land go, but a theme park should be good too.

I talked to a man yesterday about the property next to his. He just recieved a letter informing him,so he says, that Six Flags just closed the deal on some land that is mainly used for four wheeling and ATV's. Supposedly we are on line for them to build a Six Flags park in our area. Praise be, because we can sure use something here for entertainment and also another source for jobs. All heresay of course. We all are praying though.

Six Flags Over Florida would tank fast if it were placed in central Florida to compete with the big 2, however, if place in north Florida or in the panhandle, it may have a fighting chance. I believe it would succeed if placed somewhere between Tallahassee and Pensacola, in that strategic location, it would not only feed off of the Florida crowd, but Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and possibly Lousiana. It would probably kill Wild Adventures in Valdosta, Georgia.

BTW, I can't believe we've re-opened a thread that's over 5 YEARS OLD!

I know for a fact that there was talk of Six Flags purchasing land in Tradition, near Pt. St. Lucie FLA (southeast). That deal was pushed away in favor of building a large MOA......which also fell through. The then decided to build the largest Outlet Mall, which because of the decrease in home sales led to that deal falling through. Would it have worked? For a while...but we dont get the tourism that Central Florida does, and it would have fell flat in about 5 years. Add to that you wouldnt be able to staff it day after day, because chances are it would not have been a seasonal park.If you look at it, the only way for them to do a park in Florida is to theme it highly and put it in close proximity to Orlando.....Cypress Gardens maybe?

I was watching one the MBC ntework news channels late last night and it was on Vegas. They kept referring to that fact that Orlando was #1 & vegas was #2 in world rankings for tourist destinations.Vegas is spending literally billions on developing and trying to take over from O-Town so would O-Town hit back with a new theme park?They have the Conference center, the dinner shows and the shops but not near as many as Vegas does, and the revenue Vegas makes from this is amazing. Much more than Orlando would ever consider.So maybe Orlando would allow another park within a 50 mile radius just to compete with Vegas and keep the customers interested.

Not true G. There is talk about allowing more gambling in the casinos. Why we dont allow casinos is beyond me. How much revenue does vegas make from gambling every day? Florida has no industry, no more agriculture....if Vegas is trying to push Orlando out of number 1 for tourism, then what does that leave for tax revenue? Higher property, sales taxes and impact fees.......which is going to drive people away faster. If you propegate it with something like gambling....which they have already anyway (Lotto anyone?) you wont have to increase taxes in other ways which would give pakrs a huge relief as well. Just a thought.